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I had my gall bladder removed back in 97 when I was 4 months pregnant with my son. I had absolutely no idea at all that there were issues until I had the attack in the middle of the night. I thought I was dying. Went to the ER, found out I had severe pancreatitis that needed IV antibiotics to get it under control before it was safe enough to remove my gall bladder, but also saw that my gall bladder was so full of stones it was literally about to burst. I was in the hospital on iv meds for 3 days before I could have the surgery. Then during the surgery, when they removed it, it literally burst as it was removed and a few stones got stuck and had to be removed. I was in surgery 2 hours longer than expected and spiked a fever. I was in the hospital another 3 days on more pain meds and antibiotics before I was allowed to go home. So in my humble opinion, get it outta there. Not worth the trouble you will inevitably have now that you know you produce stones. It's not likely to stop, so better to be safe than sorry.

When I had my gall attack (worst pain ever! 😩🥹), I asked my surgeon (he did my sleeve too) about dissolving it or shattering it with radio frequency. He said if you’ve grown one stone you’ll grow another. Best thing is just to remove the gall. So he did. The surgery was easy. He used the same sites as my sleeve surgery for the laparoscopic surgery so I have no additional scars. The recovery was easier than my sleeve though I did have gas pain (I didn’t have any with my sleeve). Pain was similar & manageable again & lasted about 4 days. Best of all no special diet, no diarrhoea, no constipation, no nausea, etc. after. I did end up with a malabsorption issue which isn’t very common. Mine is for protein, which is even less common, & some meds. I was just unlucky … or special depending upon how you look at it 😁. It’s not an organ you really need - it just manages how much stomach acid & bile goes into your digestive system. Occasionally I get a bout of acidic diarrhoea (my sister-in-law does too) & that’s all.

I have a sleeve; I take ibuprofen occasionally when the particular type of pain I am dealing with isn't helped by ibuprofen (I have a lot of joint/back pain just because of the weirdness of sleeping/moving around these days). I try to avoid taking it more than once a week. You're right, Tylenol just doesn't work on certain things and it's got its own set of problems if you take it too often. One way I avoid taking more pain medicine than I need in general is using non-pharmaceutical pain relief methods like hot baths with epsom salts, pain patches like IcyHot Advanced, ThermaCare wraps, and heating pads. I also use CBD as a supplement sometimes and it takes the edge off my pain.

I'll start with a question for my maintenance buddies: Do you ever "forget" you had surgery and it becomes a new normal? I think about my sleeve/food all the time... as much as I did when I was actively losing. I'm always aware that I've had surgery, and I'm always trying to figure out when and how to eat. It's not a bad thing.. just a thing.

I got the clearance from the surgeon after he looked at my CT scan! We're good to go for the sleeve!

I have officially made it out of the obese BMI category!

I had the DS SIPS on August 16th. Down 23 LBS since surgery. Down 42 total since July 26th, pre op diet start date. Was taken off metformin at my 2 wk check up. Having no issues, thankfully. I am 53 yo and wish I would have had this surgery years ago.

i'm filthy from gardening so, NO. lol. but i'll do it later after a shower! 😂😂😂😂

Ok-- raise your hand if you just tasted your skin ...... LOL I did - nope no bitterness. I do have a wonky sense of smell though .I just noticed that I smell things that I'm not sure are real or not. My taste buds also changed a bit. Now to me - cottage cheese tastes so salty . Maybe it's all connected somehow.

I used mine until expired. This time I did not lie about my weight